As the “Special One” returns to the team where he started his remarkable career, Jose Mourinho has “verbally agreed” to take over as manager of Benfica, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Although Mourinho is most known for his successful exploits with Porto, Benfica’s fiercest rival, the 62-year-old actually managed the Lions for a total of ten games in 2000.
As expected, a disagreement with the president of Benfica caused Mourinho to step down as manager. Two years later, he took over at Porto.
The Portuguese coach would win six trophies at the Estádio do Dragão, including the illustrious Champions League run in the 2003–04 season, where he eliminated Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United team.
Before returning to Stamford Bridge in 2014, Mourinho would go on to coach Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid.
Following this second stint with Chelsea, Mourinho was appointed manager of Old Trafford, a controversial decision that many club officials disapproved of due to his controversial demeanour and philosophy of football.
Even though the Red Devils finished sixth in the Premier League standings, Mourinho would have a successful first season with the team, winning the Europa League, Carabao Cup, and Community Shield.
However, over the next two years, Mourinho would start to sour relations with his team by playing a never-ending blame game in the media, as has become the norm throughout his flaming career.
This culminated in December 2018, during his infamous “third” season with United, when the team took action to fire him. A few days later, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was brought on as temporary manager.
This point signalled a shift in the calibre of clubs prepared to accept the circus that Mourinho’s appointment requires.
Tottenham took a chance by firing him prior to a Carabao Cup final, which is a harsh criticism of a manager known for winning cups. After that, he relocated to AS Roma, where he helped the Serie A team win the Europa Conference League before completing his career in the Italian capital.
After that, Mourinho moved to Turkey and took charge at Fenerbahce. However, the 62-year-old was unable to convince his team to compete against fierce rivals Galatasaray, and following a Champions League qualifying loss last month, the club president decided to replace him.
But after Benfica fired Bruno Lage earlier this week, Mourinho made an instant comeback to management with the Portuguese powerhouse.
A Two Year Deal
Despite having a 2-0 lead after 16 minutes, Benfica lost to Azerbaijan’s Qarabag 3-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
As a result, Lage was quickly fired by President Rui Costa early on Wednesday morning, and Mourinho was instantly suggested as the replacement.
And now, Romano has said his signature “here we go!” to the “Special One,” who has verbally agreed to a two-year deal with the Lions.
